Trench Warfare

How a trench battle would happen

No Man’s Land

A

A

A

B

B

B

Tactics

Prior to any attack- massive artillery bombardment

Would shell opposing trenches for days

Then send men to attack

Almost always attackers suffered extreme casualties Thousands killed in

minutes

Ypres Three battle of Ypres Western Belgium Germany surrounds

on three sides British soldiers push

back eventually Pay terrible price

First gas use on Western Front

City destroyed Came to symbolize

destruction

Before… And After…

Gallipoli

Attempt to break stalemate of Western Front

Cutoff Ottoman Empire

Give Russian fleet an outlet Help suffering ally

Break through the Bosporus

Failure at Gallipoli

Landed on peninsula Poorly coordinated Those with opportunity

did not take advantage Turns into another

trench struggle Eventually Britain

withdraws 205,000 Allied

casualties No gain

Large ANZAC force

Landing at Gallipoli

Fighting at Gallipoli

Battle of Verdun

New German strategy “Bleed them white”

Pick a target France would not surrender “They shall not pass”

Objective: Kill as many as possible Only way to win was

outlast Longest battle of WWI 21 Feb. – 18 Dec. 1916 Quarter million dead,

half a million injured

Fighting at Verdun

Verdun Today

Battle of the Somme

Launched by Britain, July 1916 Take pressure off France

(Verdun)

Most casualties in British history

Britain’s first day- 60,000 wounded, 20,000 dead

Eventually over 1 million casualties

Tank debut

Soldiers Attacking at the Somme

Fighting at the Somme

Impact

The British and French did succeed in capturing ground, but little more than five miles (8 km) at the deepest point of penetration — well short of their original objectives. The British themselves had gained approximately only two miles and lost about 420,000 soldiers in the process, meaning that a centimeter cost about two men.

Passchendaele (Third battle of Ypres) July 31-Nov. 6, 1917 British attempt to drive

Germans out of Belgium British attacked German

lines Suffered thousands of deaths Germans counterattacked

and suffered nearly as many

Thousands drowned in water after being stuck or wounded

Enormous waste of lives on both sides

Areas of Fighting Western Front Italian Front Eastern Front Southwest

Africa East Africa Serbia Palestine Front Mesopotamia Gallipoli Seas around

UK

Check for Understanding

With a group of 3-4 people, discuss the following questions. How were battles in WWI fought? What were the battles like? Why do you think the battles lasted so

long?

In 3-4 sentences, on a half sheet of paper, summarize what your group discussed and what you learned today.

Assignment

Draw a picture of a battlefield or battle during World War I. Can be colored or black and white (shaded) but should display your best efforts. Try to depict what these battles were like (think back to pictures we saw today. Indicate what battle you are showing.

On the back, describe how World War I was different than previous wars we have discussed (Civil War, Spanish American War).4 sentences